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City Council Rightfully Checks Mayor Bloomberg

We commend City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Council members Darlene Mealy, Letitia James and City Council members who supported this legislation.

[Op-Ed: Union Matters]

Today, the City Council voted to override the Mayor's veto of Intro 624-A, a bill that strengthens Local Law 35 and establishes good government and transparency, accountability and fairness in the City's contracting-out process.

This vote puts in place the necessary checks and balances protecting taxpayers' dollars, public services and the dedicated public employees who provide them. It also helps safeguard against a repeat of the CityTime contract, which was characterized by millions in cost-overruns, fraud and corruption.

The bill requires the City perform a cost benefit analysis comparing public vs private employees when a contract threatens to result in the displacement of city workers. District Council has fought vigorously for eight years to call attention to the fact that the city has wasted billions in taxpayers dollars as a result of a flawed procurement process.

We commend City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Council members Darlene Mealy, Letitia James and City Council members who supported this legislation. We look forward to its implementation and enforcement.

Ms. Roberts is executive director DC 37. District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 121,000 members and 50,000 retirees.